Above Turrel's hand, a globe of water swirled into existence as he turned his head towards Jack.

  “As I am limited on time, I will keep this brief. It is a very good learning opportunity, so listen closely,” Turrel motioned for Jack to approach. “My techniques are not secret; in fact, I am quite well known for them.”

  As he spoke, the orb continued to grow, stretching from the size of a marble to that of an apple.

  “It is all based on two things. Firstly, my trait: [Parallel Processing], which allows me to focus my mind on two things at once.” The globe of water swelled to the size of his head. “The second is a skill I have created called [Stabilise]. Using them together, I am able to layer skills onto one another.”

  The globe stretched out into a long rectangular shape.

  “I have just used [Create] to form the water orb. I then stabilised it and am maintaining that skill with one part of my mind. The other is now using [Shape].”

  The rectangle stretched even further, the edges rushing forwards to extend its length. It began to form into a cylindrical tube with a cone at the end, a simplistic spear.

  “Now, I recast [Stabilise] and [Shape] again.”

  The tip elongated and the shaft stretched out, widening as the water inside flowed to the exterior, leaving the inner part of the cylinder hollow. The shape now resembled the ballista bolts in length and thickness.

  “This becomes very repetitive, Jack, but as a perceptive man, I am sure you can see how this might work?” Turrel asked. A shimmer passed over the floating spear.

  Jack’s mind raced with the possibilities. It seemed so simple, but with enough time and mana, he understood why Monty had said Turrel could be one of the strongest in the Universe. He imagined a spear the size of a city, swirling with power and imbued with every combination of traits possible.

  “My primary frequency is water. But ice is within the ‘blue’ band with water, so I am able to absorb and use it for my water abilities at a slight inefficiency. All that means is that this will take a little longer than I wanted.”

  As he talked, the shimmer over the surface of the water seemed to thicken, solidifying slightly.

  “I have just infused tension into the spear and am about to add pressure to it as well. I plan to add some highly pressurised water into the hollowed-out section.” Liquid appeared inside the spear, filling the void like water in a glass bottle.

  “If I had more time to study the shield, I would probably be able to do something quicker, but I think it is best I take the safest approach. I aim to do something similar to the fire-charged bolt from earlier.”

  The water filled the hollow space, and Jack marveled at Turrel's obvious mastery. Jack's prismatic mana sense allowed him to feel mana of all frequencies, so he could sense exactly when Turrel used his skills. If he didn’t have that ability, however, there were no tells. Monty was flamboyant and visible with his actions, using his body to assist him. Turrel was as still as a statue, activating multiple skills simultaneously. It was mind-boggling to Jack, who had to focus intensely to deliberately activate even one.

  “Did you know, Jack, that water, when placed under pressure, generates heat? Not a lot, of course, but it is noticeable when enough pressure is applied.”

  Jack felt the activation of the skills speed up; he thought he could see the inner water darkening.

  “Water is an interesting material. If you place it under enough pressure, at a certain point it will simply snap into place and become solid. Different parts of the universe have different names for this state, but I like the term 'Hot Ice'.”

  The spear began to vibrate with a low hum as the water inside became darker and darker. Jack assumed from Turrel’s speech that the activations he was feeling were all increasing the pressure. If so, he was up to well over thirty applications.

  Jack was torn between stepping back to hide behind Monty and Brandt and staying close to hear what Turrel was saying.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  “To keep it simple: this is ice that won't melt and is well above the normal boiling point of water. It is likely too dense to be made brittle by the shield, and it is very unlikely to be frozen by anything less than ten applications of that skill.”

  The vibrating spear began to emit a high-pitched whine. With the next activation of Turrel's skill, a new sound rang out, a sharp, metallic clink. As Jack looked at the spear floating in the air, the centre part looked like a tube of glass with a translucent grey tint.

  The vibrations slowly died off as the hum faded, but Turrel was still activating skills. Jack took a moment to peel his eyes away from the construct and looked back down at the Yeti. Everyone seemed to be reacting very strongly to what was going on, but he wasn't sure why. He guessed it might be something to do with the Yeti mutating, but now did not seem like the time to ask.

  “Now would be a good time to step back, Jack. Hopefully, this has given you something to think about with your own abilities, if not now, then in the future,” Turrel said.

  Suddenly, the spear began to move.

  Jack quickly backpedalled until he was in line with Monty. The spear had started to rotate slowly around Turrel, picking up speed. Its movement seemed strange, almost as if it were tethered to a point somewhere above Turrel’s head. It spun like a weight on an invisible string. Every few rotations, Jack felt Turrel activate another skill, accelerating the spear until it was moving so fast it started to whistle as it sliced through the air.

  With almost no warning, the spear was flung out of its rotation, rocketing forward. Jack had faith in Turrel, but the spear was heading wildly off course, flying at almost a 45-degree angle away from the target.

  Just as he began to doubt, the projectile started to curve in the air. Its path locked onto the creature, but instead of a straight line, it followed a curving, wobbly trajectory.

  The Yeti was still kneeling and breathing deep. It looked up just in time. However, between its focus being split and the speed of the approaching missile, it was only able to erect a single barrier.

  Turrel's spear crashed through the barrier, shedding its outer coating of stabilised water as it turned to ice and shattered into a fine mist. The interior segment, however, continued to race towards the Yeti, no longer swerving. The shard of compressed ‘Hot Ice’ flew straight as an arrow, steaming as the remnants of its frozen shell boiled on its surface.

  Before the beast could do more than raise an arm, it was hit.

  Unlike the ballista bolts, this had no issue piercing the Yeti's tough hide. Or at least, Jack thought it had pierced, it was hard to tell. Even from this distance, the sound of a massive crack rang out through the ringed section of the city. That sound was quickly washed away by a muffled explosion and the screaming sound of hundreds of kettles boiling at once.

  Jack raced forward to stand by Turrel and survey the scene. As he approached, all he could see was a slumped outline of the Yeti through a thick, dirty steam. A rush of humid air rose from the impact zone, bringing a wet, coppery scent with it.

  Looking between the unmoving shape below and Turrel, Jack started to think he might have to be a little more respectful than he had been.

  “Hmm. A little messier than I would have preferred, but effective nonetheless,” Turrel said, placing a hand to his temple. “Sorry, Jack. I know you will have questions, but my trait takes a fair bit out of me when I deactivate it. Just… give me a minute.”

  Stepping back from the edge, Turrel walked over and leaned heavily against the wall behind them.

  Jack stared as the mist cleared slightly and caught sight of the Yeti, or what remained of it. There was a massive hole through the middle of its chest; it looked less like it had been pierced and more like it had been tenderised.

  Wisps of steam still escaped from its eyes and nose. The body itself looked strangely loose. No longer strong and imposing, it had a gruesome, cartoonish look to it as it sagged into a heap of skin and steamed mess.

  Holy shit… he literally steamed the Yeti from the inside out.

  Jack looked down at the lizardfolk near the closest ballista and saw they were having a very similar reaction. It felt as if every eye in the area had turned towards his location. Towards him.

  With Turrel having backed away to rest, and Monty and Brandt still standing further back, Jack was standing at the railing by himself.

  One of the Zerraians nearby tapped a friend on the shoulder, pointing first at Jack, and then at the Yeti’s corpse.

  Jack looked around in a panic. Seeing no one stepping forward to clarify, he started to shake his head and wave his hand in front of his face, motioning that it wasn't him.

  The Zerraian shared a look with his friend. Then, they templed their hands and bowed, touching their snouts to the ground.

  Jack groaned.

  It seemed like other locals on the lower tiers had noticed the two lizardfolk bowing to him. With them being the closest to Jack, they must have assumed they saw who was responsible. Slowly, more and more turned towards Jack and bowed their heads.

  Standing there awkwardly, he slowly backed up. But after taking two steps, he collided with a massive body that could only belong to Overseer Brandt.

  He felt two giant hands grip his shoulders, stopping him from escaping, and heard a quiet chuckle from above.

  “Oh, no, Jack. It would be rude to ignore their praise. It is a matter of honour, so you should wave and acknowledge it.” Brandt leaned down slightly and whispered in Jack's ear. “This might just work in Monty's favour in the long run, so I am sure he would appreciate it if you played the part for him.”

  Jack's shoulders slumped as he was slowly pushed forward.

  I do have a fun little short story entry into the magazine contest as well which I will finish up (After the bonus chapters here) in the next few weeks if you wanted to have a peak.